Thursday marked the latest advance in the progressive mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson’s crusade against big business, as the City Council voted to increase paid time off.
This is the most recent step in Johnson’s ultra-liberal agenda since he took office in May.
Opposed by a number of organizations representing hotels and hospitals, the City Council approved an ordinance doubling the current paid leave requirement in Chicago to ten days by a vote of 36-12.
In addition to providing workers with 10 days of sick leave, the ordinance postpones the date when employees could prosecute their employers for violations and exempts small businesses from the obligation to reimburse departing employees for unused paid time off.
The measure will become operational by the end of December.
In addition to worker advocacy organizations and labor unions, the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Business Leadership Council, and the Chatham Business Association are proponents of the ordinance.
The new regulations, according to major business trade associations like the Illinois Restaurant Association and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, will only worsen the city’s business climate.
Several of Johnson’s other progressive initiatives, such as the elimination of lower tipped wages for restaurant employees and the “Bring Chicago Home” initiative, which will establish new tax tiers for real estate transfers and allocate funds to homelessness relief, have been subject to criticism by opposition groups.
These initiatives are scheduled to be finally put to voters in March.
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